Kidnapped 2: What Comes First
by twice the trouble
Summary: It's been six years since Sakura and Kiba's escape as well as Naruto and Hinata's death. While on a routine mission just outside the Land of Fire with Neji and Shikamaru, they run into something they never expected to find.
1. Chapter 1

Hey everyone, I'm back! Sorry for the wait, I'm a bit of a slow writer so even after about a month I'm only halfway through chapter 2. Even so, I figured you guys have waited long enough so I could at least give you the first chapter to hold you over. Though you might not thank me once you get to the end, sorry bout that. :) I've also been working on making my writing style more efficient so if any of you notice a change that's why. Anyways, I'll have then next chapter up as soon as I finish it and deem it worthy.

Hope you enjoy,

Trouble 1

I don't own Naruto. Not now. Not when I finally post the last chapter of this. There will be no other disclaimer. You have been warned.  
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SAKURA

I couldn't help but feel on edge during this mission. It was impossible not to when everything was so similar to that one six years ago that changed everything. We were in the same set of woods, we had a four man team, and it was a B-rank mission that could go wrong at any moment. There were just too many similarities between this mission and the one where I lost my teammate.

Shikamaru and Neji didn't see the similarities, I could tell. Of course they were never on the original mission so it's not surprising. But Kiba did. He was just as stressed as I was, glancing around the woods more often than normal along with sticking really close to Akamaru.

"I don't like this," Kiba finally said. Our group had remained silent since we crossed the border, not from some sort of decision, we were just too nervous to talk.

"Neither do I." I glanced around the woods myself. "But it's a simple reconnaissance mission. The sooner we get it done, the sooner you can get back to Ino."

"What are we looking for anyways?" He looked away, obviously trying to take the attention off of his relationship with Ino. Apparently it was supposed to be a secret, but everyone in the entire village already knew about it.

"Tsunade-shishu said that there were several reports of disturbances happening in these woods. She thinks that this could be the result of our captor so she sent us to look for evidence proving such a theory."

"That's all well and good, but why us? We were the ones held captive by him for two weeks. How could she think it was a good idea to send us?"

"We know what to look for." Kiba opened his mouth to comment when Neji held up a hand, indicating the need for silence. We remained quiet as he scanned the area with his byacugan before pointing ahead of us and motioning that there was an armed figure approaching. Kiba and I tensed as we waited for the figure to appear, sure we'd have to fight. When he finally came into view we were a little relieved to find that it wasn't wearing one of the psycho's trench-men coats. Regardless, we didn't drop our guard.

As he got closer, we could make out his features. He was obviously male with his broad shoulders and masculine face. His hair, which rested just above his shoulders, which would have been spikey if not covered with enough dirt to hide its color. The rest of him was in close to the same condition, dirt wise. He was wearing a long, brown coat that looked like it outlived several owners before he took possession of it. The thing was covered in gashes and tears to the point that I was surprised it was still in one piece. Underneath it was simple farmer's cloths that looked just as warn as the coat. They were a dark green color that would make it easy to blend in with the surroundings if need be. A hilt of an old looking sword peaked out from under his jacket as if it were eager to be used.

The man walked like a ninja, his feet barely making a sound on the forest floor as he approached. This alone told us that he'd had some shinobi training at one point, and judging by the confidence in his gait, he probably had a lot of it. When he looked at us, his step hesitated for a moment before resuming his pace.

"What are you doing here?" he asked once he was close enough. He didn't make a move to get closer at this point.

"We should be asking you that question." Neji eyed the man suspiciously.

"No, you shouldn't. This isn't the Land of Fire, Konoha has no authority here." The man glance behind him. "You should leave."

"We have permission to be here."

"Regardless. You should go. It's not safe here for ninjas, especially those with bloodlines such as yourself." Neji looked surprised, but before he could retaliate I stepped forward.

"Wait, you're talking about ribbon-wielding man, aren't you. His organization's still here?"

"It's not an organization. It's a single man with lots of lackeys and a larger-than-life ambition." The man glared, though I doubt it was towards us. "Just leave."

"Who is he?"

"Do you really need to know?" He was starting to sound exasperated now. "He's dangerous, that's good enough."

"No it's not."

"It should be. You were lucky enough to escape the Collector the first time. Doing so again would be impossible."

"How do you know about that?" Kiba snarled, pulling a kunai out of his pouch. The man gave us a tired sigh before speaking again.

"He's careful so that only those that are captured know of him. If you know of him, then you were captured at some point. There were a pair of konoha nins that he took a while ago. They were the only ones to have ever escaped him so if I had to guess, two of you would be those people."

"If that's true, then how do you know of him?" I asked, his story sounding not quite right.

"I'm not under his control if that's what you're asking."

"It's not. I want to know how you know him."

"That's nothing you need to worry about. You should just leave before they find out you're here."

"I'm not leaving without answers. We have a mission to complete."

"Forget the mission! Get out of here before it's too late!"

"Not without answers."

"Damn it! Why are all you Konoha nins so damn stubborn! Why can't you just—" Out of the corner of my eye I caught Neji spin around toward his left. Kiba immediately threw a handful of kunai in that direction before bothering to ask what it was. This proved to be a mistake. I could see a flash of fear on Neji's face just before a little boy appeared running towards the man.

"Tou-san! Tou-san!" the boy shouted, not even noticing the knives heading in a collision course with himself. But before any of us could call out a warning or do anything the man shot forward, unsheathing his blade as he did so. In a split second he was in front of the boy, knocking away the blades with one swipe of his katana.

"Ryuu, are you alright? You're not hurt, are you?" The boy shook his head nervously as the man knelt beside him, spinning him around to see if there was any damage. Finding nothing he turned to Kiba, anger clearly written on his face. "Watch were you throw those things, damn it! He could have been injured!"

"How was I supposed to know!? You kept shouting about how dangerous it is yet you bring your kid?"

"I didn't, he was supposed to stay at the house." He put away his sword and turned to talk to the boy. "You know it's too dangerous to be out here by yourself, don't you?" The boy nodded solemnly. "Then why'd you leave?"

"Kaa-san n-needed flowers," the boy named Ryyu stammered, shaking like a leaf after the whole ordeal.

"You should have waited for me."

"B-but tou-san..."

"Don't but tou-san me. Get back home right this instant!"

"B-but the bad men are h-here." The man froze at these words.

"Where?" He pointed towards the left making the man nod in response.

"Go home Ryuu. I'll take care of them. Dat- oh never mind. Just go."

"B-But they're there too."

"Oh for pete's sake," the man said, mostly to himself before turning towards us. "Are you leaving anytime soon?"

"Not until…" He never gave me a chance to finish. Instead, he cut me off and started speaking himself.

"Fine, then watch Ryuu for me."

"But…" He patted his son's head before darting off and ignoring me yet again. "Hey, get back here!"

Just as he disappeared from view Ryuu tore off after him but before he could get far I caught up to the child. Scooping him into my arms, I held him close as he tried to break free. I might not know either of them, but there was no way I was going to let that little boy run into danger after his father trusted us with his safety.

"Let me go! My tou-san needs me!"

"No, he doesn't, he can take care of himself I'm sure," I assured the boy but he wasn't believing me.

"Yes he does! He can't see them, he needs my help!"

"He'll be fine, little one," I told him again before getting an idea. "You see that man over there? The guy with the long hair?" He turned around to look at Neji, staring at him for a long moment before talking.

"That's a guy?"

"Yes, he is." I tried not to chuckle as I continued. "He can see a very, very long ways. So if your tou-san is in any danger he'll see it and we'll go and help."

"You will?"

"Of course, we're ninja so saving people is what we do. Ok?"

"I guess." I could tell he was studying me despite the fact that his own hair was covering his eyes. I turned around and started back towards the rest of the group. Now that he had stopped fighting me I could get a good look at him. His hair was similar to his fathers but shorter; it was trying to be spikey despite the dried mud weighing it down. He looked about four years old, though with his clothes three sizes too big it was hard to tell.

"Let's take a break, you guys." I placed Ryuu on the ground where he just stood there as if he didn't know what to do.

"We just took one," Kiba complained as I sent him a glare.

"You're point? We found what we're looking for so-"

"No we didn't! All we found was some paranoid hermit that is giving us more questions than answers."

"Once he comes back, he'll give us some answers," Shikamaru pointed out as he sprawled out on the ground. "After watching the boy, he'll owe us at least as much."

Kiba grumbled as he sat down, leaning against one of the trees with Akamaru by his side. The rest of us followed suit as we waited for Ryuu's father to return. The boy himself sat relatively still with his knees pulled close to his chest and his face buried in them. Despite his face being hidden I had the distinct impression that he was studying each of us somehow. I thought it was ridiculous until Neji came to sit next to me. He silently offered me a ration bar before opening up one for himself. As he ate he began speaking to me in hushed tones, probably so Ryuu couldn't hear him.

"The boys using chakra."

"How?"

"He's channeling it into his eyes, I'm not sure what he's doing from there but, if I had to guess I would say he has some sort of dojutsu." I was silent for a moment before whispering back to him.

"Is he dangerous?"

"As far as I can see, no. Whatever he's using, it's eating up a lot of chakra. As a child he wouldn't be able to keep it up for two awful long."

"How long?"

"I'm not sure, his chakra is cloaked for some reason. I can't see it like I should, that's why I didn't pick him up until he was almost in sight. I wouldn't have sensed him at all if it weren't for my byacugan. That goes double for his father."

"Something doesn't seem right here," I said after a moment of thought. "I'll go talk to the boy." I got to my feet and went over to him. Before I even sat down his head popped up and looked right at me.

"Hungry?" I asked, holding out the uneaten ration bar. He glanced at it wearily before slowly taking it from my hands. He looked at it as if trying to figure out if it was dangerous or not. Apparently the boy had no idea what it was, which was understandable if he only knew this forest for his whole life. "Here, like this."

I opened the package for him and handed it back. The curious boy looked at it for a moment before taking a bite. He wrinkled his nose at the taste, making me laugh.

"I know, it tastes horrible."

"My tou-san's cooking's better."

"Is your father a good cook?'

"No." I chuckled as he continued eating it anyways.

"So, your name's Ryuu, right?"

The boy looked up at me quickly, as if in surprise. I couldn't tell with this hair covering his eyes but it was a good guess.

"That's what your tou-san called you. Am I right?" He nodded before turning back towards the ration bar. "Well, Ryuu, what's your family name?"

"Tou-san s-said I wasn't supposed t-to tell."

"That's alright." I smiled again getting a small one back in return. "So, how old are you Ryuu?"

"Four."

"You're a very brave for a four-year-old."

"Thanks?" He sounded confused as if he didn't know how to react.

"Do you know why your father ran off like that?"

"He h-had to fight the b-bad men."

"Who are these bad men?"

"Don't know. But they're bad."

"Why are they bad?"

"They hurt my kaa-san. I-I'm not sure what they did b-but it made tou-san really sad and we can't see her anymore. T-that's why they're bad." He looked down at his ration bar still in his hands as he played with the wrapper. "I g-get her flowers b-because tou-san said they make her h-happy."

I tried to think of a response but came up empty handed. It was clear that the woman had died, even if Ryuu was too young to understand what that meant. He might have on some level, especially if he was that worried about his father fighting them. I knew why he called them the "bad men" now, any person that kills a child's mother deserves the title.

Just as I was about to speak, Neji tapped me on the shoulder and whispered urgently in my ear.

"He's in trouble," he said so quietly that I almost didn't hear him. "They have him restrained and are placing some sort of seal on him."

"What type of seal?"

"Paper, so it's temporary but other than that I don't know. Wait..." He blinked, his head jerking back in surprise. "The seal, it just released a bunch of red chakra from him."

"Red? Are you sure it's red?" I asked desperate.

"Yes." His answer was all my mind needed before going into hyper drive.

It started recalling all the little details I overlooked, that should have hinted towards this outcome but I never picked up on them. The hesitation in his pace, as if he was surprised to see us, knowing we were Konoha despite being too far away too see our symbols, even knowing we were captured; it was all clues. I glanced towards the Ryuu to see him looking at me curiously as if he was trying to figure out what we were saying.

"Ryuu, I'm going to ask you something important and you're going to need to answer me truthfully. Just a yes or no will do."

"Ok."

"Your father's name, is it Uzumaki Naruto?"


	2. Chapter 2

Hi everyone, it's me again. :) Now I normally don't have chapter's done this quick but I figured you guys needed an explanation for Hinata's death. It's not in this chapter but it will be either in the next or the one after that. I know it doesn't sit right with some of you, and I'm really sorry about that. I just couldn't see a way to keep her and have the story go like I want it to. Thanks to all those that understand this, and to all of you that don't, I hope you'll hang in there long enough to find out my reasoning. I don't kill character's without reasons, if the death doesn't do anything then they don't die. Simple as that.

Sorry if it's a bit under my normal standards but I normally spend months refining the chapters, but I just finished this one today and only went through it a few times.

I hope you enjoy regardless,

Trouble 1

NEJI

I gaped at my teammate, trying to comprehend her thought process that lead her to believe her six-year-dead teammate was still alive. I had seriously thought that she'd moved on but apparently not. He was dead, that was that. There had been a funeral and everything. Yeah, they buried an empty casket but it was still a funeral. It was a beautiful service, a small private affair in order to keep those that didn't appreciate him from trying to turn it into a celebration. Only those close to Naruto had been invited, though most of the Konoha shinobi force showed up anyways to show their respects.

It was there that Tsunade finally told us how Naruto had protected the village for the past sixteen years from the Kyuubi by becoming his retainer the day he was born. Truthfully, I hadn't been surprised. I could see that there was something different with his chakra whenever I fought with him, whether it was in competition or side by side on missions. There was always this slight red chakra that leaked out when he fought. I guess I can see where she got this from, but I'm sure there are many with red chakra like that. I, myself, know for a fact that the current Kazekage used to have that same color chakra before the Ichibi was removed.

So, logically it was impossible for that boy to be…

"H-how did you know?" Ryuu asked, quietly interrupting my thought process. My head snapped around to stare at him next in shock.

"Just a hunch." Sakura stood up, flashing me a triumphant look as she did so. "Kiba, Shikamaru, stay here and keep an eye on Ryuu. If we're not back in ten minutes, assume the worst and leave. Neji you're with me."

"Where are you going?" I stood up, neither of us bothering to answer Kiba's question.

"Are you going to save my dad?" The little, could-be Uzumaki looked between Sakura and I expectantly.

"Apparently," I told him before following Sakura into the trees. When I had finally caught up to her I asked a question that was serious starting to bug me. "Do you really think that could be Naruto?"

"I don't know. But I'm not going to take the chance that it's not." She looked oddly determined at this point, a look I hadn't seen on her since they were kidnapped. I nodded my understanding and stepped up our pace. We stopped at the edge of the clearing where everything was taking place and observed the situation. There were thirteen of the original twenty-five lackey's that were still conscious, four of which were above chunin level. There was a man in a large, black coat that stood in front of the hermit, who was being held by five of those above-chunin men. Our possible Naruto looked to be in a great amount of pain as the seal on his back drew out the red chakra, making it swirl around his chakra coils, unable to escape.

"Can you take care of the seal?" Sakura asked quietly. I nodded in response. "Then do so. I'll take out as many as possible before they escape."

"Hai. Though you might want to capture one to take back to Anko."

"I'm not making any promises." She pulled on her gloves as she answered. I activated my Byakugan once again before we both charged towards the enemies.

She darted off towards the left, almost directly at the overcoat-clad man while I made a bee-line towards his captive. I kept my eyes focused on my part of our mission, knowing that my teammate could take care of herself; she wasn't the hokage's apprentice for nothing. I quickly disabled any person standing in my way, not bother to keep track of how many I actually took down. It wasn't long before it got to the man and released him from his captives. As soon as I did this, he collapsed to the floor writhing in pain.

Before he could cause himself harm, I pinned him on his stomach and ripped the seal off, throwing it as far away as I could. He stopped flailing immediately, opting instead to lay on the ground gasping for breath. But I couldn't stop there, so I shot back to my feet and began fighting what was left of the thugs alongside Sakura. Almost as soon as I joined the fray, the boss called for a retreat. Sakura tried to chase them into the trees but I held her back with a hand on her shoulder.

"Now's not the time." She looked at me almost angrily before I motioned towards the man still lying on the ground. She nodded her understanding and made her way towards him. As soon as her glowing hand touched his chest he began struggling to his feet. But before he could get too far, she grabbed him by his jacket and pulled him back to the ground.

"Relax or I won't be able to help," she told him in his shock. It was about then that he got a good look at us and realized we weren't the enemies. He relaxed a bit, letting Sakura do her job.

"Mind explaining what the hell that was?" Sakura asked, once the green glow faded from her hands. He gave her a curious look before sitting up himself.

"They were trying to kill me," he said simply. "Wasn't that obvious."

"Why?"

"They want Ryuu and the best way to get him is to get rid of me."

"They want Ryuu because of his dojutsu," I spoke up. He gave me a startled look before I continued. "Am I right?"

"How do you know?"

"I could see his chakra flowing into his eyes."

"Oh, yeah." He looked away as he ran a hand through his hair. Sakura handed him a container of water. He thanked her and took a long drink of it.

"Is that dojutsu byakugan?" He almost choked on the water in astonishment. No matter what he said next, that reaction pretty much told him I was right.

"What? No, no. That dojutsu is Konoha's, there's no way he-"

"Cut the crap, Naruto," Sakrua piped up. He looked surprised once again before he started sputtering in objection.

"T-that's not m-my name-"

"Then what is it?"

"Um…" Before he could come up with something, Sakrua reached over and grabbed him by the hair. He tried complaining but Sakura ignored him and opted to rub some of the dried mud off his hair. As it flaked off it revealed a strand of bright blond hair that I've only ever seen on the Uzumaki .

"You're still a really bad liar, Naruto." She showed the blond lock to him, making him sigh.

"I know, never did get any better," he finally admitted with a guilty smile. I stared at him in shock for a while, making him quite uncomfortable in the process. "What?"

"It's really you?"

"Didn't you guys just prove that?" I was about to answer when I heard laughter. I slowly turned to look at Sakura to see her head down and her shoulders shaking as if she were crying. But the sound coming from her mouth was definitely not from crying. I glanced at Naruto in confusion only to be greeted with a similar look on his face. By the time I turned back to her she was in full out laughter.

"Damn it Naruto," she said between bouts of laughter. "You've been alive all this time, and you didn't let us know? I don't know whether to hug you or hit you."

"Not the second one, I need my brain."

"Fine, but only if you explain everything in perfect detail."

"I will, promise. Let me just get Ryuu home first. It's past his bedtime."

"Sounds reasonable." I stood up, offering a hand to the should-be blond. He took it gratefully and pulled himself to his feet. Once he let go of my hand, he wavered to the point he had to grab my shoulder to regain his balance.

"Are you alright?" Sakura hurried to his side.

"I'm fine," he insisted, letting go of my shoulder with a muttered apology. "Just lost my balance a bit."

"Are you sure you don't need help?"

"Yes, I can walk just fine. I don't want to worry Ryuu." I nodded in understanding as Sakura looked at him confused. "I'll explain later but for now just know that his byakugan is quite strong. He could probably pick me up at least half way back, if he was focusing."

"He has byakugan?"

"Yeah, Neji hit the nail on the head with that one," he said with a chuckle. He started walking away towards the trees as Sakura stood there tring to process everything.

"Are you coming?" I asked her, shaking her out of her thoughts.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, let's go."


	3. Chapter 3

Hi, I'm back. Thanks for the reviews everyone, I really do appreciate knowing you're thoughts of my story, good or bad. Anyways sorry if the next chapter is a bit off, it was another rush job, but I really want to get to the explanations quick so here it is. Not the explanation, that's next chapter. This is just a bit of a break before there's more seriousness.

Hope you enjoy,

Trouble 1  
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KIBA

The three of us left at our make-shift camp sat in an uncomfortable silence. Well, it was uncomfortable for me and the kid at least, Shikamaru looked to be sleeping. The boy seemed very worried for his father despite trusting Sakura and Neji enough not to follow them. Despite this, he wouldn't relax even for a moment around Shika and I.

"It's time," Shikamaru said suddenly, making the both of us jump. The other man got to his feet and stretched lazily.

"What? It hasn't been ten minutes yet." The kid looked at him in surprise as Akamaru barked in agreement.

"It's been twelve. I gave them two extra minutes just in case but they're still not back yet." He picked up his sack and placed it on his back. "We have to go."

"B-but what about m-my tou-san?" He looked towards Shika questioningly. "We h-have to wait f-for him."

"We can't. We have to get to safety before we can go back for them." There was a moment of silence between the two. "We have to leave."

"No." My head snapped towards the boy, shocked at the stubbornness in the little kid's voice. "I'm not leaving."

"It's not safe here," Shikamaru tried to explain but was promptly ignored.

"Don't care. I'm waiting for tou-san."

"No, we're leaving," I said trying to help.

"Alright." I blinked at him in surprise before he continued. "But I'm not going with you."

"You have to!"

"I'm not going!" I glared at him as he, not doubt, glared back. We sat there for a minute or two before I finally had enough. Faster than he could react I shot forward and scooped him up around the middle. He started flailing as I placed him under my arm.

"Let's go," I said over the kid's yelling. Unfortunately, we only got a few feet before he went silent for a moment.

"Tou-san!"

He suddenly threw out his arm, catching me strong in the stomach. I end up dropping the kid in my surprise, allowing the little brat to scurry off before I could even recover. Just as Shikamaru decided to get his lazy ass in gear to go catch him, a figure appeared in front of us. It was only a couple seconds after we realized it was the weird hermit that he got tackled by a flying child and almost sent into the ground.

"It's alright Ryuu," he said quietly, kneeling down so the boy wasn't dangling from his jacket anymore. He wrapped him in a comforting hug just as Sakura and Neji appeared behind him. "It's alright."

"T-they thought y-you w-weren't coming b-b-back."

"I guess I just proved them wrong, huh?" He coaxed a small smile from the boy before continuing. "I'm fine, honest. Now it's time to get you home, it's way past your bedtime."

"But tou-san-"

"You and I both know you should have been in bed an hour ago," he interrupted gently. He picked him up with one arm, making sure the boy's arms were around his neck before standing up. "So we're going home and you're going to bed."

Ryuu sighed, sounding as if he already knew he lost the fight against bedtime. The hermit turned to walk away with his son when I decided to speak.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going? You're supposed to be giving us answers!"

"I guess you're going to have to come with us then." I gawked at him as he flashed me a trickster's grin. "There's not much room, but it's safer than staying out here."

"How is some hermit cave better than right here?"

"Because my 'hermit cave' has extra security measures that will keep them from finding you."

"We can take the bastard."

"Are you sure? He'll come back with more lackeys, especially since he now knows you're here. So, you coming?"

"I'm not following some-"

"Cut it out Kiba," Sakura said as she started following him. "We're going with him."

"But-"

"Who's heading this mission again?" I was silent, which somehow got interpreted as an answer. "You're right, me. So, let's get going."

He started walking away again as the rest of my team followed, including Akamaru. My dog glanced back and wined, trying to get me to follow. With a sigh, I followed them, knowing that I lost.

Of course, it didn't take long for us to get to his small hole-in-the-ground. Surprisingly, it really was a hole in the ground, a cave entrance hidden under a huge tree. The tree itself was covered in strange symbols that looked like some sort of seals.

"Are those seals?" Neji asked, making the other man glance back.

"Huh? Oh yeah, they are." He grinned as he turned towards the tree once again.

"You're 'extra security measures' I presume?" I asked, he didn't even bother to turn around this time.

"Yep, beautiful, aren't they."

"Chaotic, that's what they are," Neji answered as he examined them. "I've never seen seals like this before, they shouldn't even work."

"Well I kinda had to improvise. There was an old ninja that taught me the basics but from there I had to figure out everything else on my own." He pushed the make-shift door open and ducked through the opening.

I watched as the rest of my team followed him through the doorway. I looked at Akamaru, earning a curious tilt of the head from him.

"Can you believe them? Following a stranger into his own house!" He yipped quietly, telling me I was paranoid before going into the house as well.

"Traitor," I murmured, following them anyways.

There was no way I was staying outside alone, not with that ribbon loving psycho on the loose. In my annoyance, I forgot how low the doorway was and ended up knocking my head on it.

"Watch your head," the hermit warned, smiling as he placed his son on the ground. His mini-me giggled tiredly as his father helped take off his jacket.

Seeing that the rest of them removed their shoes, I did the same as I glanced around the room. I wasn't surprised when I saw the dirt walls or the large, round piece of wood that seemed to serve as a table. There were roots sticking through the walls everywhere, some of them had stuff hanging off of them. One such root had a ratty piece of fabric that seemed to cover a doorway to another room. Another served as a shelf, holding various objects that probably had some sort of sentimental value. There was a two cracked vases that didn't match, one holding flowers while the other seemed to be sealed shut with a make-shift top. There was also a jagged piece of metal sitting next to a picture frame that seemed to have fallen over at some point. I was just wondering what could be in the picture when our host spoke again.

"Did you have dinner?" he asked Ryuu. He hung the coat on another root jutting out the wall before hanging his own as well.

"Uh huh." He smiled happily, pointing at Sakura. "She gave me some'in that tasted bad and was wrapped in a shiny leaf."

"Ration bar?"

"Yeah," Sakura answered as she sat herself down by one of the walls. "He looked hungry."

"He wouldn't have been if he ate what I gave him." He looked at Ryuu out of the corner of his eye. The boy looked to the floor guiltily.

"But that tastes bad too." He blinked tiredly, almost swaying in exhaustion. Apparently being carried for the five minutes it took to get here gave enough time for his adrenaline to wear off.

"Anyways, you guys make yourself comfortable while I get this little monster to bed."

"But I'm not tired," he complained, a yawn breaking up his statement.

"Of course you're not." He began escorting the boy to the other room regardless. "But you need to sleep or you'll be grumpy tomorrow."

"So?"

"I don't want a grumpy son," he teased. He ruffled his hair slightly, sending a bit of dirt into the air. "Now off to bed."

"Hai Tou-san."

"Good boy."

"Can my hair get washed first?" He asked as they crossed into the other room. "It itches."

"Not tonight, bud." The man almost sounded sad to have to tell him that. "We'll do that first thing tomorrow. Ok?"

"I guess so."

"Let's get you tucked in then, huh?" I heard the rustle of blankets as I went to sit near the rest of my team. There wasn't much room like he had said, especially with Akamaru in here, but it wasn't uncomfortable. We heard him tell the boy good night just before the fabric started to move. It stopped suddenly when Ryuu spoke again.

"Tou-san, can you tell me a story?"

"You know you won't stay awake for it all."

"Please." The man gave a sigh that told us that he gave in.

"Alright, but only a short one." The fabric settled back to its original position as I assumed he went back to his son. "Which do you want to hear?"

"The bug one."

"I said short." There was another sigh from the man as he continued. "Fine, I suppose I can tell you that one."

"Arigato."

"Ready? Let's get started then. Many years ago, a long time before you were born. About six years if I wanted to be exact. Anyways, at this time one of my best friends left the village."

"The emo duck butt guy, right?"

"Yes," the man agreed with a chuckle. "He was definitely a duck butt. Regardless of what his hair looked like, I was dead set on bring him back. So set, in fact, that I convinced Baa-chan to give me a mission to do just that."

"You had to find the special bug."

"Who's telling the story here?" The boy sheepishly apologized before his father continued. "So, she sent me on a mission to retrieve a special bug that could track anything no matter how far away it was. But she wouldn't send me alone, oh no, instead she added me to another team of three around my age. We went to the academy together so we knew each other pretty well."

By this time I was starting to get a bit suspicious. I don't know why, it all seemed pretty general. Yeah, me and my team went on a mission to find a bug with Naruto but I'm sure many other people went on missions similar to those.

"Kaa-san was on the other team." Ryuu tried to sound excited but it came out more tired.

"Yes she was, along with the rest of her team, a guy who specialized in bugs named Shino, and a man-dog duo by the names-"

"Uncle Kiba and his puppy Akamaru." Hearing my name my eyes widened as I literally choked on nothing. It was our mission he was telling the boy, but how could a hermit like him know of it. The thing was top secret! The only way he could know was if he snuck into the vault and read through the file. If that were the case that means he's dangerous, and probably knows more than just that bedtime story he was telling.

I glanced at my team to see their reactions, only to become more surprised myself. Not a single one of them were in shock or even a bit nervous. Sakura and Neji were enthralled by the story somehow. Shikamaru seemed to be taking a nap again but he was probably listening too. Akamaru was just giving me this look that told me I was an idiot and not bothering to tell me what was so idiotic this time.

I focused back on the story, trying to figure out what the hell was going on only to become more confused. I thought maybe I was mistaken, that maybe he got the names wrong or something, but the longer I listened the more I knew it wasn't. The description of our trip to get there, the way the people acted, even the training that Hinata was doing at night. Every detail matched that of my own memory, except for one, that it wasn't my point of view. This hermit was telling as if he was Naruto! But he wasn't. There's no way he could have been. I saw Naruto die! He was gone, there was no way he could come back.

The fake Naruto continued telling his story as I decided. I didn't know who this guy was, but there was no way in Hell that I was going to let him get away with taking my friend's identity.


	4. Chapter 4

Hey everyone. I know it's been a while and I'm sorry about that. I just wanted to make this chapter really good for all of you that stuck around. Anyways, it turned out harder than expected, as it is this is only about 2/3 of the chapter I wanted to present to you but since I'm having some serious trouble writing this particular part I figured I'd give you this much to hold you over.

Anyways, I hope you enjoy,

Trouble 1  
~~~~~~~~

NARUTO

"And you're asleep. You didn't even make it to the first enemy ninja." I chuckled as I petted his hair. He didn't so much as twitch, the excitement of the day knocking him out cold. "Sleep tight, little one."

I smiled as I climbed to my feet slowly. I really wasn't looking forward to the next conversation I had panned. I knew it was going to bring back some things I didn't want to go through again, but I didn't really have a choice.

I was lost in thought as I ducked out of the bedroom, so when I was thrown into one of the walls, it was a bit of a surprise. I blinked, trying to figure out why the dog-like man was so close, and so angry.

"What the hell was that?!" he exclaimed furiously.

"Last time I checked it was a story."

"That 'story' was a mission. My mission! And it was confidential!"

"Shush! If you wake him up I'm making you put him back to sleep. And trust me, it's not an easy task," I whispered. He continued to glare at me but didn't start yelling again. "Now, let go."

"No, I want answers."

"Which I'll give you. But I can't prove any of it from here." He kept hold of my shirt, giving me a suspicious look

"Come on Kiba, let him go!" Sakura got to her feet and practically threw him to the ground.

"What did you do that for?" Kiba exclaimed before noticing Sakura's anger. His own fury seemed to fade as he saw her standing over him with her hands on her hips.

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

"He's pretending to be Naruto."

"He _is _Naruto!"

He blinked in surprise before looking back at me. I sighed, holding up a finger to indicate for them to wait. I walked over to the bowl of water and wetted an old, thread-bare towel. Then threw it over my head and scrubbed until I felt that most of the dirt was out. After removing the towel, I flipped it to a clean side and wiped the dirt off my cheeks. I turned around and sat at the table.

"Is this enough proof for you? I could show you my uncopy-able seal if not. Or the metal plate attached to my chest which, I assume, isn't common knowledge back home."

Kiba just stared in shock as the other three joined me at the table.

"Thought so," Shikamaru said through a yawn.

"Really?"

"You almost said 'datteboyo' earlier. To anyone listening, it was a dead giveaway."

"Yeah, it's hard to break that habit." I smiled, placing the towel towards the side.

"Your whisker marks are larger," Sakura pointed out, motioning towards her own cheek.

"They've been like that for a while."

"Your hair's longer."

"Neji's hair is shorter," I pointed out annoyed. "A lot shorter. What happened, did you lose a bet?"

I continued to stare at his now shoulder length ponytail that I didn't notice before.

"I cut it."

"You don't say."

"What the hell's going on here?" We all looked over towards Kiba, who seemed to be stressed out a bit. "How are you still alive? Where's Hinata? Since when do you have a kid?!"

"Which do you want me to answer first?" I asked, making him quiet for a moment.

"Where's Hinata?" he finally answered.

"Gone."

"Gone? Gone where?!"

"She's dead Kiba."

There was silence for a while as everyone tried to process this.

"So she didn't make it out then," Neji finally spoke.

"No, she made it out with me. She just didn't make it this long."

"I think you need to start from the beginning."

"Yeah, that sounds best." I was silent for a moment before speaking again. "Um, when exactly _is _the beginning?"

"Just start right when Ino and I got separated from you."

"Ok, the very beginning it is."  
\- - - -

"We have to go," Neji said as shouts made themselves known down the hallway.

"Not until I get my forehead protector," I exclaimed, pulling myself out of his grip.

I stumbled backwards, almost causing Hinata and I to lose our balance.

"Forget about it! You can get a new one!" Ino said, sounding exasperated. "We have to go now!"

"Iruka-sensei gave me that forehead protector. I'm not leaving without it."

Before we could argue any farther, several goons came darting around the corner.

"There they are!" One of them yelled, pulling out a weapon.

"Say back!" Neji said, pushing the two of us behind he and Ino. "We'll take care of them."

The pair of them, darted towards the men, ready to fight. But regardless of what they said, I had no intentions of staying put.

"Come on." I whispered to Hinata, pulling her in the opposite direction.

"Where?"

"I said I'm not leaving without my hitai-ate and I meant it."

She nodded hesitantly, helping me down the corridor. We had only gotten a few yards away when a stray jutsu hit one of the walls behind us, causing a cave in, and throwing us both to the ground.

"Are you alright?" I asked, trying not to cough on the dirt in the air.

"Y-yes."

I glanced back the way we came to see the whole doorway full of rocks and dirt.

"Guess we can't go back now." I climbed back to my feet, wavering slightly until I grabbed the wall. "Well, let's keep going then."

Hinata nodded before standing up and hooking my free arm over her shoulder again. We made our way down the corridor, slower than I would have liked but that couldn't really be helped. It was a few minutes before we came to any sort of room. This particular room looked to be a storage closet. There were all sorts of clothes and weapons. The strange thing was all of them were different styles, different sizes, even from different countries.

"What is this place?" I asked in awe.

"L-look," Hinata said, pointing towards the closest pile that contained two sets of familiar fabrics.

I stepped away from her and stumbled towards them. I pulled at a pair of bright orange pants that I knew couldn't belong to anyone but me.

"What's our clothes doing here?"

"I-I think these all belong to his v-v-victims," Hinata said nervously.

I glanced over to see her holding a moth eaten baby blanket. It was old, probably twenty years or so. It had a been a dark green color in its early years, with a clan symbol in the center that the moths had eaten away. What struck me was that it was knitted in a pattern I've only seen in Konoha.

"They're h-his t-trophies."

"Then he shouldn't be allowed to keep them." I grinned as I grabbed a ten year old katana from a nearby weapon stack. "Well, not all of them at least."

She nodded in determination as she grabbed two weapon pouches and packed them full of throwing weapons. I moved slower, searching for something particular. Seeing the room, I almost forgot what I was looking for, but now I was focused of finding my hitai-ate. It was only a couple minutes after I started searching that I found a beat up case in the front corner. I opened it to find it full of about a hundred or more headbands from villages across the Elemental Nations. The four on top were Konoha, one of which was definitely mine.

"Hinata! I found them!" I exclaimed, trying it where it belongs. "Head's up."

I tossed Hinata's towards her, almost missing my target completely. She caught it regardless, trying it around her neck with a small smile.

"Let's find a way out, huh?" She nodded, silently offering me a hand. I shook my head, declining.

We left the storage room, continuing down the hall. I leaned on the sword for support, not wanting to burden Hinata anymore than I already have. It was several minutes later that Hinata stopped for no apparent reason. I opened my mouth to ask why just as she asked a question of her own.

"Do you feel that?" she asked, the stutter lost in her excitement.

"Feel what?"

"The wind."

I paused for a moment, closing my eyes to focus on my other senses. She was right, there was a bit of air I could feel playing with the ends of my hair.

"Yeah, what about it?" I asked, opening my eyes again.

"It's fresh." There was a moment of silence as I tried to figure out the significance. Until she spelled it out for me. "That means we're close to an exit."

"Seriously? That's awesome! Great job Hinata!" I gave her a bright grin that made her blush. "We're almost there."

I grabbed her hand and began pulling her behind me. Despite my pace, she still stumbled in surprise.

We rounded the next corner and saw a wooden door with light shining through the cracks. I turned around to smile at her again when something caught my eyes. It was a small slip of paper covered in writing that had just began to glow. Recognizing the symbols I pulled Hinata in front of me, mere moments before the explosive tag went off.

I felt the blast throw us both through the door with an impressive force but I was out before I even hit the ground.  
\- - - -

"I'm not sure what happened after that," I confessed. "Apparently I lost a lot of blood and was unconscious for quite a while."

"So the blood on your jacket and hitai-ate…" Sakura wondered absently.

"Was mine, yes. They were destroyed in the blast."

"Ok, so that's answers how you survived," Kiba said grumpily. "Now tell us where the hell you've been for the past six years!"

"Here."

"The whole time?!"

"Well, no. The first two years we were in a small village of misfits."

"…Why?"

"I told you I was seriously injured right?" They nodded. "After that it was all Hinata could do to get me to a safe place. She tried to treat my wounds but wasn't very successful. After a few days I was getting really sick and my wounds weren't closing.

"It was then that a hunter found us."

"A hunter nin?"

"No, a real, wild game hunter. After convincing Hinata that he wasn't going to hurt me, he brought us both back to the village. One of the locals knew some healing jutsus so she helped the both of us recover from the ordeal.

"Once we were better, they set us up in an old farm house at the edge of the village."

"Why?"

"They were all in situations like ours at one point of another. There was no place left for them to go, no one willing to help. So they banded together and decided to help themselves, as well as anyone else that happened by."

"But isn't that a bit much?"

"How so?" I asked, giving Sakura a confused look.

"They healed your wounds, fed you, and let you both stay in their homes while you recovered, and _then _gave you a house! I know you said they were nice but that's an awful lot to do for a pair of strangers."

"Yeah, but by the time we got the house we weren't really strangers anymore. We had been there for a month and after finding we couldn't go home, they gave us a place there."

"What do you mean, you couldn't go home?"

"The Collector had the Fire borders guarded, there was no way for us to cross it. You got away during the confusion but they were organized by the time we tried. So we went back and became residents of the town.

"The house itself was a small, one bedroom farm house that no one was living in at the time. The old owners left and gave the rights to it to the town, telling them to give it, and the farm land to someone that needed it. Apparently we qualified."

"They gave you farm land?" Kiba asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yep, a couple acres worth. I grew the crops to sell and Hinata grew a few different ones to eat."

"One bedroom," Neji asked suspiciously.

"Um, you see I slept on the floor most of the time. Some of the time. Well, I did for the first two months. After that winter really set in and the floor was freezing. And we didn't really switch back. But I'll have you know I was perfectly admirable. We didn't do anything."

Neji glanced over towards the bedroom where Ryuu was sleeping then gave me a pointed look.

"Until we were married," I amended quickly. "Do the math. We got married a year after everything happened, and he was born a year after that."

"A year. You got married after a year?" Sakura asked amazed. "That's a bit short, don't you thing?"

"Yeah, I know. It kinda just happened."

"How do you 'just happen' to get married." Sakura glared at me for a moment until she thought of something. "Was saki involved?"

"No. It was ramen," I answered sheepishly.

"Ok, now you need to tell us," Kiba said with a laugh. "How is ramen involved in getting married?"

"Like this."  
\- - - -

I had just finished putting away my farming tools for the day. We were in the middle of harvest season, which was pretty exhausting. I was so exhausted that I could swear I smelled ramen. I tried to shake the smell out of my head knowing I would start to want some and there was no way for me to get it.

When the smell didn't fade, I thought about making some of my own, before realizing I had no idea how to do so.

I was still moping about the ramen when I walked inside our house and almost skipped a step in surprise. The small kitchen/dining room was a mess, covered mostly in flour and dirty pots and pans. In fact it looked as if all the cookware we owned, which wasn't much anyways, was suddenly dirty. The table and chairs were the only thing clean in the room, which included Hinata.

She had her long hair tied back in a low ponytail, which she normally did now a days. There were a few strands that had escaped; she must have been busy to not have fixed them yet. She set something on the table and turned around to smile at me. She had on a light purple dress she didn't wear a lot; she only wore it on special occasions. It had a few spots of flour but apparently the white apron caught most of it. There was even a bit of the white powder smeared on her cheek.

"Happy birthday Naruto," she said happily.

I stared at her blankly as I tried to process everything. It couldn't have been my birthday already, could it? Even if it was, how could the kitchen being a mess be something to be 'happy birthday' worthy? Then, with a shock, I saw what she was so excited about. The table behind her was set with two bowls, and a large pot full of still steaming ramen.

When I didn't say anything, she became nervous. She began pressing her forefingers together as she explained herself.

"I went into town to do some shopping and saw the date was October 10th. So I used the money I was going to buy the new blanket with, since our other one works fine, and bought supplies for ramen. I read the recipe a few times, so I remembered most of it. But I'm sure I messed up on a few things, so if it tastes bad I'm sor—"

Before she could finish apologizing I scooped her into a tight hug.

"Thank you," I whispered in her ear before giving her a quick peck on the lips. She blushed bright red even though we'd been dating, in a sense, for a year now.

"B-but you haven't even tasted it yet."

"If it tastes half as good as it smells I'm in for a real treat."

I finally let her go and hurried to pull the seat out for her, my exhaustion all but forgotten.

"After you, miss," I said with a grin.

"It's your birthday."

"So? I feel like being a gentleman for once and since this is the only think I know that gentleman do you can't really say no."

"Ok," she said with a smile. "If you insist."

She settled into her chair as I rushed over to mine. We served up the ramen and picked up our chopsticks.

"Itu…{I can't remember it}!" We both said as we dug in. After the first bite I swear I almost passed out. It was amazing! The best I've ever had! Of course after not eating it for a year, even cup ramen would taste like Ichiraku's. But even after my taste buds calmed down it still tasted fantastic, almost at the same level as Ichiraku's.

"That was incredible!" I exclaimed once the whole pot was gone.

"You think so?" she asked, fiddling with her napkin.

"Didn't you taste it? It was great!"

"I'm glad you liked it," she said with a blushing smile. She climbed to her feet and started collecting the dishes.

"I can wash them if you want," I offered but she only shook her head.

"That's alright, I made the mess, I can clean it up."

"Are you sure? There's an awful lot there." She was about to shake her head again but I interrupted. "At least let me dry and put away once you're done."

"Alright," she relented. "But don't get in the way."

I laughed as gave me a playful smile before collecting the rest of them and bringing them to the sink.

There was a comfortable silence between us, like there was a lot of the time now. It wasn't that we didn't know what to say, it was just that we didn't need to say anything. We were perfectly at ease with each other's company, as if it was always like this. Or always could be like this. I kinda liked that idea, having this simple life until this life was over. With this in mind, my mouth decided to say something before my brain knew what was happening.

"Will you marry me?"

There was a loud splash as a pot slipped out of her grip and fell back into the sink. Neither of us moved for a moment before she turned around to look at me.

"W-what did you say?" she asked quietly.

"I believe I just asked you to marry me," I said as she blinked.

"T-that's what I thought." There was silence again as she thought. "Why?"

"I'm not sure," I answered truthfully. "I haven't quiet caught up to myself yet."

She nodded, excepting my words, mostly because she already knew my mouth was usually faster than my mind.

"Does this have anything to do with the ramen?"

"I don't think so," I said slowly.

"So you didn't just ask to marry me because I can cook ramen."

"If I was like that, I would have asked Old man Ichiraku to marry me years ago."

"True," she said with a smile. "Were you serious?"

"I believe so."

"Then I'm going to have to think about it," Hinata answered before turning back to the dishes. The silence that followed was an awkward one. We were both deep in thought as we went through the rest of our evening.

By the time the dishes were finished and put away I as eager to hear answer. But I gave her a bit more time to think, not mentioning it until we were getting ready for bed.

"Um, Hinata-chan?" She stopped what she was doing to turn towards me. "About my question earlier, do you have an answer yet?"

"I do."

"What is it?"

"Well, I want to say yes…" she was cut off by a shout from me. She waited patiently before continuing. "But I can't, in good conscience do so unless you know for sure you want this."

I opened my mouth to complain but was interrupted.

"Marriage is serious. It's an oath that you stay with that person for your whole life. I don't want to force you into something like this without you knowing what you're doing."

"So you're going to say no."

"No, I'm giving you till tomorrow to really think this through and I'll give you my answer in the morning. If you still want one that is."

"Why wouldn't I?"

"You might retract the question."

"Oh, ok I'll think on it," I said with a grin. I went towards the bedroom, only to be stopped by Hinata.

"No," she said, a smirk appearing on her face, one I've only seen when we were alone. Apparently she acquired a small pranking streak from hanging around me so much, but she was still too shy to show it to anyone else. "You're staying out here tonight."

"But…why?"

"Because I don't want to be woken up at three in the morning by your decision, and knowing you, that's what would happen." I was about to deny it when she gave me a yes-you-would look. "When I said morning, I meant morning."

"B-b-but…the floor's hard!" I exclaimed. She ignored me and headed to the bedroom. I tried to follow her but she shut the door before I could get in. I ran into the door, causing a thunk she must have heard, if the giggling said anything.

"Goodnight Naruto-kun,"

"Goodnight," I grumbled back.

I began heading towards our small couch, but decided last minute that camping out on the porch would be better. The weather was great and staring at the stars always helped me to think. So I grabbed the blanket Hinata had left out for me and set it up on our front deck before laying on it.

The stars out here were beautiful, the sky held so much more of them than Konoha's ever did. Out here I saw constellations I never even knew existed. It was exhilarating, yet calming at the same time, matching the rest of our life here. Even though I was no longer a ninja, I still get excited for everyday that began here. I might not be able to perform jutsus anymore, I still felt whole, as if there was nothing missing from my life at all. I could easily give up my dreams of becoming hokage to keep what I had right here.  
\- - - -

"It didn't hit me for a few hours afterwards that I would have given up everything I had, the house, the farm, and everything else I owned, just to keep Hinata with me," I said to them, lost in thought. "Hinata was what made that place so great. I mean she took most of the day, a day that as already busy to begin with, to make me my favorite meal just because it was my birthday. That's why I asked her to marry me, and when I told her all this the next day, I like to think that's why she said yes."

When I finally focused on the word around me, I noticed my audience. Sakura seemed completely taken by the story, stars in her eyes and all. Neji nodded his approval and Kiba looked around bored to death, despite being the one that wanted to hear it. Shikamaru, well, he seemed to have fallen asleep at some point.

"As for how we got married so quickly," I continued, kicking Shikamaru awake as I did. "One of my neighbors saw me on the porch that morning and asked me about it later that day. I told him about our engagement and next thing we know we're getting hitched in the middle of the harvest fest the following week. They planned everything for us down to the wardrobe, the date, and even the witnesses. All we needed to do was show up. I swear they were more excited about the marriage than we were."

"That's so cute! I knew you two were perfect for each other," she said happily.

"Yeah, yeah, they're freakin' adorable," Kiba grumbled annoyed. "But I don't see why you had to tell the whole story. You could have just said 'she cook some really good ramen so we got hitched.'"

"I tried that, you wanted more," I said. "Don't complain to me that your answer was longer than you expected."

"Whatever, just get back to the important stuff already. Like how you ended up here."

"Isn't it obvious? The Collector found us." My happy mood disappeared as I remembered what happened next. "It was a couple weeks before Ryuu was supposed to be born that a villager came to our house and told us that there was someone in town that was looking for us. We packed what we could and tried to get a head start but the stress was too much for Hinata and she ended up going into labor right in the woods.

"They caught up to us soon after Ryuu was born and if I didn't pull a fast one on him, we would have been recaptured. But we got away and found this place a few days later. I spent a couple days placing the seals, Hinata activated them for me, and we've been here ever since."

The silence in the room was almost unbearable. It was heavy with the one question everyone wanted an answer to but was afraid to ask. Until Kiba spoke up.

"Then how did she die?"


	5. Chapter 5

So...apparently it's been almost 2 years since I updated. Time sure flies when you have writer's block. And I had a pretty severe case of it. I'm REALLY sorry for not updating sooner. I kinda lost momentum and got super stuck on this story. It ended up collecting cyber-dust in an abandoned corner of my laptop for quite a while as I worked on a few other stories and went to school. Truthfully, it would probably still be there with half this chapter written if NaruHina didn't ask me about it. So thanks :)

Anyways, I can't promise when the next chapter will be out, particularly since i'm already quite behind on Blindsided, which is supposed to be my main focus right now. So, it will come out when it does, hopefully in less then two years.

Hope you enjoy,

Trouble 1

ps. sorry if there's spelling/grammar errors. I haven't been writing much lately and I'm apparently a little rusty.  
~~~~~~~~

**NARUTO CONT.**

"Then how did she die?"

"It was about a year ago. Ryuu was three and it was the first time since moving here that we thought of going home."  
\- - - -

"Come on, we could make it," I said to Hinata at our meager dining room table. Our son was already asleep in the other room so I was trying to keep my voice down. "Ryuu's three years old now, he's old enough to travel."

"You forgot that he's _your _three-year-old," she said, continuing once I gave her a confused look. "He hasn't figured out what the word 'quiet' or 'hush' means."

"Yes he does. He's tells me to hush all the time."

"Then he doesn't know how to implement it. He's just too loud to cross a guarded boarder yet."

"It's been five years since the last time we tried to cross, I doubt he still has people there."

"But he could, and Ryuu would draw them right to us."

"Then we travel while he's asleep. He never makes a peep once he's out cold."

"I still think it's too dangerous," she stated after a moment of thought. "We should wait a few more years until Ryuu's old enough to understand the dangers. At least then we'll have an easier time getting him to stay quiet."

"But I don't want him to understand." Now it was Hinata's turn to give me a strange look. "If he understands how dangerous everything is then he'll be scared of it. I don't want him to grow up scared all the time. That's not how a childhood should be spent. If we leave now then he won't remember most of this and he can grow up like a normal kid in Konoha."

"I do too, but I'd rather see him grow up here than not at all."

"Can we at least try?" I asked. "If we find it's too dangerous or there's too many guards, I swear we'll turn right around and wait another four or five years here. But if there's even the slightest chance of us making it back I want to take it."

"But Naruto-kun…"

"Please Hinata-chan. We'll never know if we don't try."

"Alright," she relented. "But I decided if it's too dangerous."

"Ok."

"That means if I say turn back, we turn back and you won't complain about it."

"Yes Ma'am!" I said with a salute that made her laugh. "I'll go pack."

"No, we're going to sleep. If we pack now then you'll wake up Ryuu. And _you'll _be putting him back to bed."

"Ok, packing in the morning it is," I said extra quiet. "We can leave once we're done right?"

"Right," she said, smiling as I silently cheered.

The next morning we indeed, started collecting all the necessary items we would need or want for our journey. Ryuu seemed extra excited as he ran from room to room, fetching what we asked him to. I'm not sure if he really understood what weren't coming back, but I doubt he'd really care either.

Once everything was packed, we ate lunch and started our journey. Ryuu's excited mood was infectious as he ran here and there, occasionally bringing back something to ask what it was, then run back to find more. I almost keeled over laughing when he brought a baby garden snake over to Hinata, claiming it was a worm. She yelled and threw it back while I rolled in the grass. She shot me a dirty look before trying to calm Ryuu down who had been quite startled.

It was around 7 that he finally crashed for the night at which point we continued on with him sleeping on my back. A couple hours after that we saw our first border patrol goon.

We were only a mile away from crossing the border when Hinata motioned for me to hide. We ducked under some overgrowth, letting our seals keep our chakra hidden. We saw him pass by within feet of our hiding spot, looking as if he were scouring the grounds for people just like use. We stayed silent until he was so far out of sight that even Hinata couldn't make him out anymore.

"They're still here," Hinata whispered to me, still not secure enough to speak normally. "We should turn back."

"It was only one guy," I told her, my voice matching hers in volume. "We ran into a lot more last time."

"So? They've downsized. It doesn't change the fact that there are still guys looking for us to cross here."

"Well, maybe that's the only guy."

"You know as well as I that where there's one, there's always more. We should turn back now, before we can't anymore."

"Let me at least see what we're dealing with."

"Naruto…"

"I'm not complaining, I just want to know how many there are up here," I told her. "I'll scout ahead real quick to see what their numbers are like and then come back to tell you. If you think they're still too high then we can turn back."

"Alright, but hurry up." I gave her a grin, as I passed Ryuu to her before I started sneaking away. I had only gone a few feet before she called back to me.

"And Naruto?" I looked over my shoulder towards her. "Be safe."

"I will," I answered before I left.

I stayed low to the ground, trying not to make a sound as I scoured the area. As I got closer to the border I was a bit surprised not to find anyone else nearby. Despite my optimism, I had expected to find at least two or three more men patrolling the area but that wasn't the case. It was basically empty.

I spent a few more minutes observing the border, walking up and down it a ways just to make sure. There was still nothing. I stood there a moment, grinning in excitement. With just the one guard, we could definitely make it across. The three of us would be home in no time.

I had just started to head back, thinking how surprised Baa-chan would be when we showed up when I heard a scream. It made my blood run cold as I recognized the voice. It was Hinata's.

I abandoned all thought of stealth and rushed through the underbrush. I had no idea what was happening but I knew darn well it couldn't be good. Hinata never screams.

It felt like forever before I got back to where I left them. And when I had finally got there, I knew we never should have left. The place, itself was no different; the trees were undamaged and the foliage looked barely disturbed. The only thing that had changed was the pool of blood growing in the center, and Hinata laying in the middle of it.

"Hinata-chan!" I shouted, running to her side. I dropped to my knees beside her, trying to ignore the blood that was soaking my knees. I searched frantically for where it was coming from but there was just so much that it was hard to tell.

I had just noticed that she was having a hard time breathing when I found it. A gash in her chest that seemed to go straight through to the other side. I started to panic, unsure of what to do. I hadn't been the best student when it came to anatomy so I had no idea where the heart was, or whether hers had been hit or not.

At some point, I remembered that you had to put pressure on the wound. So I took off my jacket and pushed it firmly against the gash. Hinata made a small sound of pain before she opened her eyes.

"Hinata-chan!" I exclaimed, feeling relieved now that she was conscious again. "It's going to be alright."

"I couldn't…stop them," she answered in a course whisper.

"That's ok."

"No, I couldn't stop…them,"

"It's going to be alri-"

"No! You don't…understand. They took…They took Ryuu."

My mind stopped at these words. That was one of my worst fears since he was born and I had forgotten. I wanted to bang my head against a wall, curse myself out for being such a horrible father. But Hinata spoke again before I could even start.

"You have to go…go get him."

"But you-"

"Don't bother…with me!" She tried to shout, only to end up wincing in pain. "Save him! Please, just go…save him."

I nodded reluctantly as I watched her eyes well up with tears. I placed one of her hands on the jacket to replace my own. I stalled for only a moment more in order to place a gentle kiss on her forehead.

"I'll be back. Datteboyo," I whispered, earning a small smile from her in return before I took off.  
\- - - -

"I don't really remember what happened after that," I said, taking a deep breath in order to continue. "I know I followed their trail, which was obvious due to some non-shinobi in the group. When I finally caught up to them, I saw they had Ryuu in a sack and I kinda, snapped."

I didn't meet my audience's eyes as I continued, but I could feel their shock. I ignored it, not really wanting to face them yet.

"Next thing I know they're all dead, my sword and I are covered in blood, and Ryuu's bag was left in the middle of it all. I feared the worst when I ran over to him, but it turns out he had been asleep the whole time. There wasn't a scratch on him."

There was silence for a moment while I tried to figure out how to continue. When my mind came up blank, they must have figured I needed a little push.

"What about Hinata?" Sakura asked, making me look up at them once again. "You went back for her, right?"

"Yeah, but by the time I got there, she was gone."

"Gone?"

"When I was getting Ryuu, they had another group grab her. I couldn't go after her like I did Ryuu because it would put him in danger. And I knew damn well that Hinata would have killed me if I did that."

"Doesn't that mean she could still be alive?" Kiba asked eagerly.

I didn't answer immediately, my eyes wandering to the sealed vase on the shelf.

"No," I said quietly. "They made it… quite clear she was dead."

"But how do-"

"They sent me her head, Kiba," I interrupted. "It wasn't even a week after our failed escape that they displayed it in a clearing she used to frequent. They left it there so I'd find it, so I'd know that she's dead, and that it's my fault."

"Naruto, it's not-"

"Not my fault?" I asked, turning back to them. "I was the one who insisted on trying to leave. I was the one that talked her into not going back when we saw the first patrol. I was the one that left her when she was injured. I let them take her and I let them keep her. I might not have killed her myself, but gave them every opportunity to do so."

"I'm so sorry Naruto," Sakura said, looking like she was close to tears. "We should have come sooner, or never given up searching. We should have known you wouldn't have died so easily."

I was at a loss for words. Sakura blaming herself was not something I had expected to hear. It wasn't their fault, how could it have been. There was nothing they could have done. I tried to find the words to say so, but before I could express them Shikamaru spoke up.

"Sorry to interrupt the 'we should have' party but we have some more pressing matters to figure out before tomorrow morning," the genius said, making the rest of us curious.

"Like what?"

"Like how we're going to get home with two extra people that this Collector doesn't want to let go."

"Don't bother," I replied, getting everyone's attention again. "Ryuu and I won't be going."


End file.
